Baja Divide: Ciudad Constitución to San José del Cabo

We’re back at it on the bikes – this time ~1700 miles on gravel as we traverse Mexico’s Baja Penninsula from San Diego, CA to San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur.

Day 35 – 51.6 Miles / +1424 ft gain

After a comfortable night’s sleep in Constitución, we packed up and left early on another long section as we headed towards La Paz. As you leave Ciudad Constitución, the route heads out from the city towards a massive dump that is frequently on fire. We opted for an alternate route to bypass the dump adding a couple extra highway miles then turning on a different dirt road before rejoining the route. The alt included a long stretch of sand and washboard, but what else is new. Before lunch, we rejoined the route and headed into the tiny town of San Luis Gonzaga. We ate lunch outside yet another Mision from the 1700s and pedaled on under the blazing sun. The further we traveled from Constitución, the more interesting the landscape became but we agreed that this was our hottest stretch so far hitting low to mid 80s. We pedaled while dreaming of Gatorade.

Day 36 – 45.0 Miles / +4914 ft gain

We awoke to a stunning sunrise and continued a mostly uphill climb. We began following a creek uphill through a canyon, though it was clear the creek was lower than usual. We anticipated the ability to collect and filter water from natural sources, but most of the pools were occupied by herds of cows or goats.

We passed another little town, with another beautiful church, and a sign welcoming Baja Dividers. We took a little second breakfast break drinking coffee and refilling our water. As we climbed out of the town, we noticed a biker on our heels. Miro, who we met in Cataviña, had finally caught us. His trip was ending in La Paz the following day so after a short chat, he continued clearly on a mission.

After we crested a small pass, a massive canyon sprawled out in front of us, and we descended with incredible views. At the bottom of the canyon, we found a small town and set out looking for water. We were told this town had a small store so we headed down a dead end road hoping to get a bit more water and a cold drink. As we passed a ranch, a donkey locked eyes with us, and the chase was on. The donkey giddily chased us which inspired a bit of fear and hilarity. We sped up but to no avail. He continued the chase until his big head was resting on Sean’s seat post bag. As we do when dogs chase us, I decided to stop. This happy little donkey just continued to nudge me excitedly. I decided to continue riding and the donkey clicked his heels with excitement, resuming the chase. We got to the end of the dead end road and saw a man who we asked about a store, but there was no store here. He indicated one a few miles further down the route. He also laughed at the donkey situation and held the silly guy back when we turned around to backtrack to the route.

After lunch, we resumed riding uphill all afternoon surrounded by stunning canyon walls. Finally, we reached the top of the final pass and could see the Sea of Cortez in the distance. We began a very steep descent to sea level – over 2000 ft in 4 miles – some of which I walked down. At the bottom, we decided to travel 1 mile north off route to the little fishing village of San Evanaristo with 1 restaurant / store which also had cabanas for rent. Since the sun was setting, we opted for a cabana for the evening after a tiring and eventful day.

Day 37 – 47.7 Miles / +2809 ft gain

We rode off at sunrise into a roller coaster ride of hills with the coast to our left and colorful canyon walls to our right. The day took on a repetition of being at sea level and then up a few hundred feet into the hills. Throughout this trip, we’ve noticed that hilltops with steep roads are roughly paved with concrete to keep drivers from careening into ditches. As I was slowly descending a steep hill, my tires skidded and I was suddenly pointed in the direction of a ravine. Everything happened so quickly – skid, aiming toward a 15 ft drop off, “Oh shit,” – and ended just as fast. When my front tire went over the edge, the handlebars spun locking the drop bar over the top tube with my wheel at a 90° angle. I tipped over with my bike but remained upright, in a shift from sitting on the saddle to sitting on the ground. As I sat there, I couldn’t stop expressing my gratitude for not getting hurt realizing this could have been a serious accident. My legs were jello as I stood up, walked my bke down the remaining concrete, and rode down the rest of the way to catch up.

Sean was a couple minutes ahead, already stopped and waiting for me. I explained the delay, he inspected the bike, and we kept rolling. Lucky break.

The rest of the day followed the pattern, and we enjoyed lunch on the beach with a cold drink from a little tienda. Late afternoon, the route was directly coast adjacent and I noticed activity in the water. Dolphins! A bunch of them! We pedaled lightly while watching a couple dozen dolphins playing, even jumping out of the water. We ended our ride for the day in a small town near to a local mine and found a stealth site on the outskirts of town.

Day 38 – 36.7 Miles / +1306 ft gain

We had ended our ride the previous day where the dirt ended and the pavement began as we entered the bustling city of La Paz. Greg and Regina, some Midwestern van lifers we met in San Ignacio, graciously offered us a place to stay with them, and we were eager to get clean and relax. We arrived in town after 36 easy miles around 10:00 am giving us a full day to enjoy something other than biking. We found a vegan taco stand, cheap laundry service, delicious cocktails, but mostly truly enjoyed getting to know new friends both, human and canine!

Day 39 – 36.9 Miles / +4265 ft gain

Clean, refreshed, and ready to wrap it up, we headed out for our final stretch of the route at 10 am. We left La Paz on pavement for the first half of the day climbing slowly from sea level to over 2000 ft. We were happy to make it to the top of the pass and resume riding on dirt. The route was an amazing flowy rollercoaster invoking all of the “I love bikes” feelies. In the late afternoon, we came across a small tienda and our recurring dream of an ice cold Gatorade on a hot day came true.

Day 40 – 42.2 Miles / +2650 ft gain

Our morning began with an explosion of color as the sun rose. We had a mostly easy descent with a couple sandy sections and ended back on pavement for a short stretch. When we passed through town, we couldn’t resist hot coffee. After probably too long of a break, we rolled down a couple more paved miles before breaking off onto dirt. The route climbed a pass through the hills and took us out to the sea, climbing and descending a series of rocky cliffs as we wound along the coast. Temperatures soared as we biked along. Eventually, we found ourselves staring at a perfect and empty sandy beach and without saying anything, both of us were drawn in like a moth to the flame. We quickly switched to swim attire, a moment of pure bliss.

Somehow we managed to pull ourselves away and continue riding, coming to a small town about an hour later. We grabbed cold drinks and had a little picnic on another beach. We started to notice more and more developments, fancy homes, resorts, and vacationers as we were getting near Los Cabos. Sean mentioned out loud how awesome it would be if someone invited us in the for the evening. Within 2 minutes, a couple in a truck behind us asked if we were on the Divide and if we needed a place to crash. Woah.

We eagerly accepted the offer and biked a couple miles further to Leisl and Will’s house. They graciously gave us a room for the night, a cold beer welcome, and access to their car to get groceries! We couldn’t believe their generosity – what a gift!!

Day 41 – 49.6 Miles / +3396 ft gain

Will brought us hot coffee to start our day as we watched another mesmerizing sunrise. We hit it by 7:30. The route was mostly easy and quick as we followed a road near the coast. Around lunch time we entered Cabo Pulmo National Park, a protected marine wildlife sanctuary known for whale watching, snorkeling, and diving. We found a perfect spot to have our lunch as we gazed into the sea. Almost immediately, we saw whale spouts. As we casually ate our lunch, we continued to see dozens of spouts and a few jumping whales as well. What a treat.

After lunch, we had a few more coastal miles before our route headed west into the mountains for our final climb. When we turned off the main road, the route became a trudge through deep sand. It ain’t over til it’s over I guess. We were 40 miles from the finish line walking into the longest stretch of hike a bike we’d experienced as we pushed our bikes 4 miles through soft sand. After a couple hours of pushing gently uphill through sand, we finally hit packed road again. The route continued mostly uphill with pretty spectacular views as we delighted in being in the mountains one last time.

Day 42 – 29.9 Miles / +2280 ft gain

Another morning, another amazing sunrise. It was hard to believe we made it to our final day of riding just 30 miles away from the finish line. Our morning was spectacular in every way as we followed the spine of the ridge. Eventually we crested our final pass, and the downward ride to San Jose del Cabo began. We floated downhill, coasting in delight. As powerlines came into view, the road widened and improved indicating the end of our rise was nearing. We said goodbye to the Baja Divide Route and started navigating city streets toward our Airbnb leaving us a couple days to celebrate, relax, and figure out how to get these bikes ready for flying home.

Ciudad Constitución to San José del Cabo

• 8 days of riding
• 339.8 miles ridden
• 42.5 miles / day average
• +23044 ft elevation gain
• +2881 ft elevation gain / day average

---

Total Stats

• 38 Days Riding + 4 0-Mile Days
• 1712.7 miles ridden
• 45.1 miles / day average (without 0s)
• 40.8 miles / day average (with 0s)
• +107,544 ft elevation gain
• +2830 ft gain / day average (without 0s)

We are stoked and honored to have completed the Baja Divide! Check out our overview of the whole trip here (coming soon!)